Listen up Sobrato High School students who aspire to bring a
stadium to the fledgling school: We admire your foresight and
ambition. But make no mistake, the road ahead of you is not only
long, but it’s fraught with potholes and blind curves.
In a perfect world, every high school would include a stadium
Listen up Sobrato High School students who aspire to bring a stadium to the fledgling school: We admire your foresight and ambition. But make no mistake, the road ahead of you is not only long, but it’s fraught with potholes and blind curves. We applaud the idea to bring a stadium with lights, restrooms and concession stands to Sobrato. Celebrating homecoming at Live Oak High School, while not the end of the world, must be bitter sweet.
“We’re really bothered that we have to have our home games at Live Oak,” Sobrato senior Vicky Perry told reporter Natalie Everett. Perry’s group will approach Sobrato’s neighbors to get their stamp of approval, but neither a petition nor neighbors’ permission are required to get the field under construction.
But the reality is there are more important issues facing schools/strong>
No, that will come from various government agencies and that’s where reality strikes at the core of this dream. It will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build the stadium, and even if a generous donor comes forward, the district does not have the funds to maintain the facility.
And even if they could scrape the money together, is this really the time to spend money on a stadium, when programs are being cut and teachers’ jobs are in jeopardy?
Working through the process would be a great lesson in civics/strong>
Despite the terrible timing, students should not abandon all efforts. By all counts, working through the various bureaucracies – including the school district, the city of San Jose and the Local Agency Formation Commission – will take years.
But those efforts should not include district resources at this point. Getting the ball rolling is a good idea, but a system must be put in place whereby future classes continue pushing the ball up the hill.
Trust us. It will be a great civics lesson. Let’s hope the Sobrato Bulldog Class of 2014 can celebrate homecoming at home.
